8 years later....

On Saturday it was 8 years from the day Darnell and I met on that memorable blind date. And 7 years since the day we got engaged. So we like to celebrate September 28th- I think almost every year, but this year, we've gone out for Greek food and we order the same thing we got the day we met- platter for 2. But this year was different.... no sitter on a Saturday night (boo for no grandparents around!) and no Greek restaurant nearby. So our romantic dinner out became a dinner at home and a platter for 4! I can't even remember what I made... it was that exciting :) But I feel incredibly thankful and I loved spending the day with the little ones. Here's what stood out about the day....

- We told Cody all about the day mommy and daddy met. I told him that Daddy had a big smile when he first saw me because he thought I was pretty. We told him we went mini-golfing and mommy won (but Darnell had to throw in, "I let her!"). Cody was very interested and wondered where he was at the time. And then he said that he wanted to go Minnie and Mickey golfing too :)

- We went out in the morning to a mall nearby with lots of greenspace outside. They were holding a Volkswagen event and there was a great station for kids. The boys had so much fun colouring and racing little VWs around.

- Darnell and I had an afternoon nap. Ultimate relaxing day when that happens!

- We went out for ice cream after dinner. I wish I had brought my camera (or a phone!) because it was hilarious.... at least 12 staff at Coldstone Creamery did choreographed dances to several different songs. It is common here that when a store is slow/quiet they all break out in dance... how fun is that?? The boys loved it and at one point one of the staff was holding Makai while she danced and Cody was shakin' it too. Not only did we thoroughly enjoy the ice cream, but we got a great show out of it too! High-fives were given ALL around from the boys and the staff even did a little goodbye jingle for us as we left :)

- I may have gotten teary-eyed when we prayed as a family before dinner. I am so incredibly blessed with a most wonderful marriage and two little boys who bring us so much joy. I could not have imagined, 8 years ago, that this was where we'd be now. Thank you Lord!

Every Church a Peace Church

When the professor leading Kape Theo (coffee & theology), a bi-monthly theology forum at Asian Theological Seminary, asked Darnell what our title would be for our presentation, he teased us saying, “Oh yes, that’s a great way to church plant- every church should just be called Peace Church too!” Of course that wasn’t exactly what we were thinking :)

Earlier this month we had a full day visioning meeting with our Peach Church core group. We developed our core values and made some plans and goals for the next year. I mention this because one of our core values is Serving the Body of Christ- We are called to be a witness to the church, to spread God’s message of peace and reconciliation and to encourage the Body of Christ to relevantly engage society. So speaking to this group of students, professors and pastors is exactly that! 

Because this group is predominantly male, we made a point of having Reg and I be the speakers- and we let Darnell share too :) I discussed the centrality of Jesus and what he taught in regards to non-violence and love for all people. I also shared about my Opa and played his latest youtube video! Reg shared about the Early Church and fringe Peace Churches throughout history, including the Anabaptists. And Darnell talked about the mission of the Church from the Old Testament and New Testament and the inseparable relationship between the gospel, peace, salvation and the Kingdom of God.

The many questions that followed mostly surrounded how to love the unlovable and the implications of non-violence on governments and world conflicts. It seemed that people agreed with what we shared but were sort of stuck on how it looks practically. So we discussed and gave examples of radical, third-way, non-violent love in action. Kuya Dann Pantoja also showed up (was visiting from Davao) so he shared from his years of field experience too.

We are hoping and praying that more churches will embrace Jesus’ radical teaching about non-violence and unbiased love for ALL people and find creative ways to live this message. Every Church a Peace Church- wouldn't that be something! On that note, I’ll leave you with words from a wise, well-loved man of peace, my Opa.

a 3rd birthday party for a sweet boy!

Cody turned three this month. So we celebrated with lots of friends! We had 16 little kids in the house, along with about 16 adults. And then right after they left, we welcomed another batch of 16 for Peace Church and another birthday cake! We are SO blessed by so many lovely people in our lives here. While we definitely missed friends and family at home (and Cody kept asking if his cousins were coming to his party!), we couldn't feel more loved here :)

I feel so incredibly blessed by the life of our little Codykins. Its all the little moments of sweetness and silliness.... like when he sees his brothers' nose is runny and gets a kleenex and wipes it for him, or when he brings me a toy car if I seem upset... "this will make you feel better, Mommy." Or when he recounts stories of riding "jumping motorcycles" up the mountain, or tells me I look pretty. Or when he tells his friends about Jesus calming the storms and says, "Shalom, be still." Sweet Cody, you melt my heart. We love you so dearly.

3 weeks in "Beautiful BC" and tearful goodbyes.

We returned to Manila 10 days ago after an incredibly memorable visit home (been so busy since our return... this post feels a little overdue). We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with many beautiful people and appreciated, more than ever before, the amazing landscapes of our beautiful province.

We adjusted to the time change okay with a few early morning wake-ups with Makai and Cody being an emotional mess for a few evenings in a row, but now we are settled in and have already gathered as a Peace Church community a few times and had a big 3rd birthday party for Cody too (I'll save that for a later post!).  Here's some picture highlights from our time in Canada.

We got to spend 5 days at this beautiful place....

With these lovely people..... (Christina's whole family!)

Cody got to play with some very special little buddies at several beautiful places in our hometown....

We were able to visit with my 98-year-old Opa several times. SOOO special to see him again!

We got to spent a few days at this beautiful lake.....

With all these lovely people (Darnell's family!)....

And we had a big party at our house in Abbotsford, where our dear friends, the McCrimmons live now. So much fun to spend time in a place we can still call "home!"

I hardly feel like these pictures do justice to the holiday we were able to have and the MANY lovely people we were able to visit with. But its a glimpse. We are SO thankful for all our friends and family at home who make us feel extremely loved and supported. 

It was hard to say goodbye. It wasn't done without tears, on several occasions. Living so far away from loved ones is so difficult..... as I write this and reflect on the people we had to say goodbye to, tears are running down my face. We are so thankful for our community in Manila and the many friends we have. But it still can't fill the gap.... its hard to be away from our parents and siblings, our nephews/niece, Opa, our best friends, our church community... people who know us. Really know us. There is so much joy in our lives but every once in a while I just sit down and cry, like now, and long for home. So being able to be home, as you can imagine, was beautiful. I am full of gratitude for this visit. Thank you all for making it so special.